Jesus is God who became a man: one person, fully God and fully man, born of a virgin, without sin.
All churches hold this. Of the Son, "who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man" (the Nicene Creed, traditional English)
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (1 Peter 2:2)
Lesson 3 showed the Son is God, and Lesson 4 why we need rescue. This lesson shows how God came to rescue us: by becoming one of us, without stopping being God.
Three verses to start with
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Timothy 2:5
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, 1 Timothy 3:16
Where you see it: asleep in the boat
A storm comes up on the sea at night, “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:” (Mark 4:38) Tired enough to sleep through a storm: a real man.
They wake him: “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38) “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39) The sea obeys him: God.
The disciples ask the question of this whole lesson: “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:41)
How to live it
Because he became one of us, he knows what it is to be us:
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15
So when you are tired, tempted or grieving, go to him as one who has been there: “he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18)
2BreadGo deeper: what the whole Bible says.
Why it matters
Only a man could die in our place, and only God could make that death enough for all. “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren,” (Hebrews 2:17) “to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17) “that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” (Hebrews 2:14)
A Savior who was only a man could not save; one who only seemed to be a man could not die.
He was God before he came
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17)
He came down
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:” (Philippians 2:6) “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” (Philippians 2:7)
“God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” (Galatians 4:4)
Born of a virgin
Foretold: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
Mary asked, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34) The angel answered, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
“she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 1:18)
Truly a man
He grew: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
He was hungry: “he was afterward an hungred.” (Matthew 4:2) Tired: “being wearied with his journey,” (John 4:6) Thirsty: “I thirst.” (John 19:28)
His neighbors knew him as “the carpenter, the son of Mary,” (Mark 6:3)
Truly God
He forgave sins, which they rightly said only God can do: “who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7) “the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,” (Mark 2:10)
He received worship: “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:33)
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,” (Hebrews 1:3)
Without sin
“Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:” (1 Peter 2:22)
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
He came “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” (Romans 8:3) like us in all things but sin.
Still a man, for ever
After he rose: “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” (Luke 24:39)
He went up and will come back the same: “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
A second story: the birth
The Son of God came as a baby: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;” (Luke 2:7) The angel to the shepherds: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) And the sign: “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)
The Lord, in a feed trough.
3MeatDefend it: how it has been denied, and the answers from the word.
“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,” (Hebrews 5:14)
How it has been denied, and the answer
"Jesus only seemed to have a body; he did not really suffer."
History Docetism, from the 2nd century, "affirming that Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one" (Britannica)
The answer from the word John already warned of it: “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God:” (1 John 4:3) “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” (2 John 1:7) And after he rose: “handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones,” (Luke 24:39)
"Jesus was a prophet and messenger, but not God."
History Islam, in its own book: "The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, was but a messenger of Allāh" (Qur'an 4:171, QuranEnc); many today say "a good teacher"
The answer from the word A messenger does not forgive sins against God (Mark 2:7; Mark 2:10) or receive worship (Matthew 14:33). Thomas called him “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) and was not corrected. “and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
"Two persons in Christ: a man Jesus, and the Son of God living in him."
History Nestorius, 400s, as his opponents understood him; answered at Chalcedon in 451, which confessed Christ "in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation" (Catholic Encyclopedia)
The answer from the word “And the Word was made flesh,” (John 1:14) The Word himself became flesh; he did not move into a man. And there is one mediator, “the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5)
"After the union, only one nature: his manhood was swallowed up."
The answer from the word Foretold (Isaiah 7:14), told by two Gospels (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38), and asked about by Mary herself: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34)
Site note, not Scripture those named above are named for what they teach, from their own words or the history, so you can know the teaching when you meet it, and answer “with meekness and fear:” (1 Peter 3:15)
Hard questions
"If Jesus was God, how could he be tempted?" He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) Explanation, not Scripture: the temptations were real; the text says he did not give in, not that he felt nothing.
"Did he stop being God while he was on earth?" He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,” (Philippians 2:7) yet “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) and the sea obeyed him (Mark 4:39). Explanation, not Scripture: he laid aside his glory and rights, not his being God. Christians explain Philippians 2:7 in more than one way.
"If he was God, how could he not know the day of his return?" He said, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” (Mark 13:32) Explanation, not Scripture: Christians have long read this as spoken as a man, in his servant's place. A seeming contradiction to practice on (Lesson 1).
"Why did God have to become a man? Couldn't he just forgive?" “and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22) A man had to stand in for man (Hebrews 2:14; Hebrews 2:17). Lesson 6 takes this up.
Make it yours
Learn it by heart
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Timothy 2:5
To think about
Jesus was tired, hungry and grieving, and without sin. Where do you need to know he has been where you are?
"What manner of man is this?" How would you answer the disciples' question now?
Every verse here is the King James text, checked word for word before the site goes up. Notes marked "not Scripture" are explanations, history or observations, labeled so you can tell them apart. Tap a place to read it in the Bible.